Forming nano-structured alloys may involve some degree of oxygen contamination. Nano-size particles and in particular nano-size metallic particle are highly reactive having high surface to volume ratio. Therefore, nano-size metallic particles will be easily contaminated by oxygen atoms at almost every step in the manufacturing process. For example, oxygen may be included on the surface of the raw materials (metallic and non-metallic powders) and oxygen may react with the raw material powders during mixing or milling of the powders and even during storage of the mixture. Regardless of the protective atmosphere that is provided at each production stage, some oxygen atoms will be absorbed by and react with the surface of the nano-size metallic particles.
Therefore, in order to remove the undesired oxygen atoms several deoxidation processes may be applied at various production stages. Most commonly used deoxidation methods involve heating the nano-size metallic particles to an elevated temperature above the activation energy temperature of the metal atom-oxygen chemical bond for a relatively long time (e.g., several days) to form O2 molecules. When using metalloids (e.g., Si, Ge etc.) or post-transition metals (e.g., Sn, Pb) nano-particles in alloys, for forming electrodes or other electronic components, reducing the amount of oxygen in the final alloy may affect the quality and functionality of the electronic component.